Welcome back to WDYTT, the only hockey column on the internet that is somehow both vintage and contemporary…at the same time!

Speaking of vintage, it looks as though #FreeTheSkate has transformed into #TheSkateIsFreed.

Yes, the Vancouver Canucks have brought an end to one of the more obvious viral marketing campaigns of all time and made it official…the black skate sweater is back as a permanent third jersey.

Kind of.

Of course, one can never just bring an old jersey back. There must always be updates, refurbishments, and era-appropriate adjustments.

The end result is a new black skate jersey that is strikingly similar, but just different enough to stand out as “not the same.”

And this discrepancy has led to a smattering of controversy.

There are those who stand by the old skate jersey as the only true one, and are happy to denounce this new edition as an imposter.

Others see it as an improvement. Still others couldn’t care less one way or another, and are just pleased to have the old colour scheme back.

A handful just don’t care about jerseys.

Which camp do you fall into? This week, we’re asking:

Let it be known in the comment section.

You answered below!

Minimum return is ‘hope’ that the return are pieces that slot behind Hughes and Pettersson age-wise, and open up some sort of contending window. The ship has sailed on pieces ahead of them age-wise.

In terms of ‘major surgery’ ideas, LA could use a goalie and Demko is an obvious fit, if they can manage a return of a quality RD+. If that can be pulled off, maybe there is some cap-swapping to be done with Florida — OEL and one of our big ticket forwards for something that includes Bobrovsky and Lundell. OEL has to waive, but tax benefits and sun would be nice and Knight is their future in net.

Team needs some big changes, been dickering around the edges for far too long.

Minimum returns are as follows…

Horvat: first-round pick, Kuzmenko: first-round pick, and Schenn: second-round pick. Might also consider prospects, but at this point would probably prefer draft picks, since this year’s is a good one and the Canucks are many years from contending.

For the mentioned players, my “hopeful” minimum is a first round pick for each, then add whatever players are necessary to ice a team.

However, if I was running the show, I would take the first offer I get. First offer is often the best offer.

Canucks should not set a minimum, because that is how you end up with players you don’t really want or ones who walk for nothing.

The market is the market.

The value of your player is what you get offered.

The minimum is always zero.

If the decision is made to move on, then take decisive action. Trading one soon will let the league know you are serious about all of them. It attracts good offers. The longer it goes, they don’t believe you will trade them and so they give you terrible unrealistic offers because they think you are wasting their time.

Bo: 1st (2023) or blue chip prospect, young player, and some sweetener pick. And also not taking back any garbage players past this year.

Kuz: 1^st.

Schenn: 3^rd.

These would be the minimum I would be looking for, but this brilliant organization still seems to hate draft picks and would prefer to acquire busts from other teams.

Schenn to Tampa for a second and Roman Schmidt.

I like all three players, but I would be ecstatic if they traded all of them. That would show that there is some recognition by management that they aren’t close. I would feel even better if the return didn’t include any cap commitments beyond this year. Better yet, the return included picks and prospects.

If it was a good management team, I would expect an A-level prospect and 1st and 3rd round picks for Bo; an A-level prospect and 1st for Kuz; and a 2nd or 3rd round pick for Schenn.

Horvat has to be a 2023 1st and either a C or RD prospect. IF the prospect is high-end, I can live with a lesser pick.

Kuzmenko warrants a 2023 1st and quite possibly a B-type prospect. The PPG and salary will open up interest from multiple teams.

Schenn should get a 2023 2nd. I can live with a combination of picks (ie two 3rds) or even a player and a later pick (Foote and a 5th?) that equate in value. The demand will be high on him for all the reasons he is so appreciated by Canuck fans.

We need at least one, maybe two high draft picks. The lower picks can restock our prospect pool. I just hope our amateur scouting staff are up to the task.

For Bo Horvat: 1st round pick, a blue chip prospect, and a young centre.

For Andrei Kuzmenko: 1st round pick and a young player that needs a new start. If it has to be a roster player coming back instead of the pick, it needs to be a youngish D with second pairing potential at a minimum.

For Luke Schenn: 2nd round pick, and if the bidding gets up there, the sweeteners should be a 4th/5th round pick or a young guy in need of a change of scenery.

Bo: 1st round pick and A prospect.

Kuz: 1st round pick and B prospect.

Schenn: 2nd round pick.

Any picks coming back to the Canucks for any of our vets moved at the deadline would be from contending teams that would likely be near 20th to 32nd overall. Given the Canucks’ history at the draft table, including their 2022 picks, I don’t have a lot of faith that trading for draft capitol will change the course. I guess more picks does improve your chances of finding quality, but history shows the game-changers are found in the top-10 picks

I think there is a wide chasm between what the Canucks want, what fans want, and what other teams will offer.

Fans want the Canucks to accept a significant step back. That means taking back picks or prospects 22 years old or younger that have the potential to be impact players and add to the core.

What the Canucks want? I interpret it to wanting to move sideways while getting a bit younger and maybe save a bit of money. It’s pretty clear with almost all 24-25 year olds you what they are. No way you can get a better, younger, and cheaper replacement Horvat for Horvat. At best, you get two of those things or you take an asset that, with some patience, could become all three.

At the trade deadline, playoff teams want to trade the smallest value in future assets possible to improve as much as possible in the short term. Every one of these teams is conscious of the cap, which means they mostly target expiring deals.

What I want is for the Canucks to take a step back and look for longer-term assets. Target quality over quantity. They need a secondary strategy to package assets for fewer but better assets. The 27th pick overall isn’t what the Canucks need. They need to package the 27th overall with the 12th overall for the 6th overall, as a rough example.

The Canucks need to accept right now that they will be a poor team next year without a bona fide 2nd line centre and only one true top-4 D-man.

If Schenn is traded, there won’t be much sandpaper left on the roster. I’d keep Luke and trade the rest, put them on eBay if necessary.

If we make these trades, I hope we’d circle back on Schenn and Kuz in the UFA summer. As minimum returns: for Bo, a true blue chip RD prospect (like Schneider was last year) or a 1st and a very good prospect. For Kuz, a realistic young solid 2nd pair D or a first and a decent prospect. For Schenn, a first or a decent prospect.